Abstract
This paper presents the assembly of the miniaturised direct impact compression test method (MDICT) developed at the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research at the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFTR PAS). Additionally, this method was used to investigate the mechanical properties of tantalum at the strain rate of 8 x 10⁵ s^-1. To analyse the phenomena occurring during the tests, a numerical model of the testing stand was developed and validated. The finite element (FEM) model was expanded to estimate the sources of error achieved in the results using the analytical methods. The effects related to friction, inertia, specimen ratio, adiabatic heating, stress equilibration and strain rate on the stress-strain characteristic observed before and after the analytical correction were discussed.

Key words
miniaturised Hopkinson bar, tantalum, high strain rates, direct impact, finite element method

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